Horrors of the Pranks
by Aku Maru
Summary: Pranks of the Marauders and the twists and turns the prank war cause. Humor clashes with terror as the fifth year runs its full course and sets the scene for the future of key individuals. Possible AU, compliant with all books. Currently Out of Commission
1. War Begins Anew

**Disclaimer**: Characters are property of JKR. This is a Marauders' Tale keeping in line with as much of the Memories from the Cannon as I could. I will call this one AU because there are some points that will undoubtedly run counter to Cannon though fit in nicely with my plot line. Without further ado:

**War Begins Anew**

It wasn't normally a good idea to ignore your own surroundings, but there were times when you couldn't help it. Walking to class was one of those times when people like Severus Snape should pay attention. As it happened, he was a favorite subject of the Marauders' practical jokes, if only because he was one of the few who fought back. Or at least tried to fight back. Otherwise he had no idea why their pranks centered on him. Aside from House rivalry and the prank war he really had no substantial motive to hate them. Though being a Slytherin was probably enough of a reason.

Without warning, he was drenched in some sweet smelling liquid. Looking up he saw Potter and Lupin in front of him looking far too amused and reasoned that Black and Pettigrew were nearby and out of sight. He took a menacing step towards Potter, aware that there was movement to his right. Another missile came towards him, but with a quick wave of his wand and a spell he sent the water balloon back where is came, revealing a wet Sirius Black. Snape smirked. It was always a pleasure to beat the Gryffindors at their own trick.

"Amusing," he said dryly. "And I would think wizards such as yourselves could find other ways of performing such childish pranks." A quick drying spell made him presentable for class, but the odor would remain until he showered.

"Ah, come on. We were only trying to help you with your hair, you git," Black muttered darkly. Snape would have to pay attention for the next couple of days. The Gryffindor Foursome was sure to strike again.

"You would think our dear friend Sevvie would appreciate some free shampoo," Potter said as Snape brushed past him. He tensed at the shortened nickname they branded him with. He hated any form of nickname and any shortenings. They were perhaps more humiliating than any of the other pranks. Still that name was better than some of the others they preferred.

Instead he walked past without comment, knowing it was not exactly what they wanted. An opportunity to engage in a losing verbal battle so they could resort to a physical onslaught was much more their style. They had used that trick far too often in the earlier years, when he had not figured it out. They were Fifth Years now and one could only dream that those four would grow up.

Potions was by far his sanctuary. Even with the Gryffindors. The only problem was Professor Slughorn. Though he was the Head of Slytherin house, he predominately spent his time on the over achievers. He taught straight from the book so his lectures lacked any new insights into the potions. Slughorn had also learned how to spot possible trouble before it began, thus enacting revenge in his class was useless. Therefore, Severus's free time was spent in mental exercises on Potions, the Dark Arts, and most prominently revenge. He plotted revenge for more than just himself. Whenever Slytherin House needed a foolproof prank, Severus had the perfect revenge. The culprit would never be caught for there never was enough evidence to pin it on anyone of Slytherin. But in the case of Severus Snape, if a prank was pulled on the Marauders then he was to blame and they always made it stick.

After a quiet day in lab, Lupin only exploded his potion once, he went to the library, opting for quiet study hours over food. His mother would have a fit if she knew. Thankfully she was too busy with keeping up appearances of a rich family than worrying about his education and health. Despite rumors he wasn't neglected only conveniently ignored and at times displayed as the child genius. His playpen was after all a library of illegal books. But why anyone wanted to ban books was beyond him. Knowledge was knowledge and any knowledge could be used for evil. He learned at an early age how to manipulate legal and 'harmless' curses and charms for 'harmful' purposes. He would probably be in Ravenclaw if his drive for knowledge didn't center on the Dark Arts.

"Hey, Grumpy," an annoying voice called from across the table. Severus knew exactly who it belonged to. The tall, self-absorbed jock of the group, Sirius Black. Snape ignored him. "No hard feelings about earlier?"

Severus looked up from his book. "If it extends to your lack of ill will towards me, I might consider it." Black look stunned and out of place. Verbal sparing was not his forte. That honor belonged to Lupin when he so desired to open his mouth, otherwise it fell to Potter to keep up their reputation. "Since I see it doesn't, I'll leave you to brush up on your vocabulary," he drawled. Elegantly shutting the book he glided out of the room. His mother would have been proud. Outsmarting a foe and avoiding a brawl.

Suddenly he recalled that Black was the only one taunting him. The other three were nowhere to be seen. His sense went on hyper alert. He stopped at a junction. He glimpsed Pettigrew in the hallway on his right. But the Slytherin dorms were to his left. Black was probably behind him. Three ways to go, left, right or straight. Three possible traps, Pettigrew, Potter or Lupin. As luck would have it not a sole in sight and no way to get eyewitnesses to attest to the fact that Gryffindor was responsible.

He turned left, muttering an incantation that would freeze any spells for ten minutes. Surely a Gryffindor wouldn't travel a distance worth ten minutes into the Dungeons. He wasn't wrong. After a minute or two he saw a ghost of a trip wire. And to his good fortune and small group of Slytherins were head in his direction and would reach the wire before him.

Sure enough the boy in the lead tripped the wire and set off the prank. A green and pink slime dropped on the unaware students. Three faces went from shock to horror when they realized what had happened. Severus smiled to himself, they were probably purebloods and had never been dirty before in their lives. Exposed skin began to change to a strange green in attempt to match the color of the goo.

Severus wondered where the culprits were. They were the type to watched as their joke played out. Sure enough delayed and suppressed glee was emitted somewhere behind him. Turning he saw figures fleeing the scene. He smirked. Not the victim they indented.

Severus looked at the potion wasted. He recognized it as the standard variation of Chameleon's Pride. The variation generally found in a joke shop. It made a person's skin change color to match his surroundings, or as in this case randomly changing the skin color, sometimes including odd patterns. Idly he imagined their taunts had he been covered in the substance. Must have thought some color would have cheered him up.

He brushed past the victims as if in a hurry. He needed time to plan his revenge and it required time to create the potion. If the professors wouldn't get the Foursome into trouble, he would mete out his own punishment.

* * *

End notes: Credit to the following authors for their inspiration of the mentioned portions of the story. For those of you who might have come across this work before, I have changed it to be compliant with as many Snape Memories as I could. This is still an AU by many aspects because I still wanted to keep some of my background.

And the water balloons inspired by Mwpp-lover's Waterbombs Attack

And I liked the nickname 'Grumpy' Tinyneil from Through the Eyes of a Traitor part 1. Hope you don't mind.


	2. Age is not an Issue

**Age is not an Issue**

"Did you see the look on his face?" James asked later that night in their common room. "He knew the trap was for him and knew how to avoid it." He sounded astonished.

"Was that the look before or after he looked murderous?" Sirius asked severely.

"After I think," James said.

"You think he is going to retaliate?" Remus asked suddenly. Normally he said nothing until spoken to. He must be genuinely worried about a reaction.

"He usually does," James said sourly.

"But that's the whole fun," Sirius stated as fact. "See you can come up with the best prank."

"Why did all of this start?" Remus was starring at his shoes. "I mean, when did we decide to use him as the target?"

"Had to be our first year. When Snivellus decided to slip that glue like substance onto our seats in charms," Black answered.

"No it was before that," Peter announced. "The glue was in retaliation for that hair dying stunt you pulled."

"Yeah that was a good one. Crimson and gold patterned into a lion."

"A poorly drawn lion," James smiled at the memory. "Was it the time when he put the itching powder in our gloves in Herbology?"

Remus shook his head. "That was after Sirius here sent him skating. Who would have guessed that he would just magic some ice skates like that. Didn't seem to phase him at all."

"The first moments were priceless. Unexpectedly slipping." Sirius let a feral grin escape.

"I think it was at one of our first flying lessons," James said suddenly. "Who would have thought a pureblood like him had never been on a broom before. How long did it take him to overcome his fear of falling?"

Black grinned. "About a month. The most humorous month of the year," he said carelessly.

"You certainly didn't help," Remus shot him a discouraging look. "Jinxing his broom was a poor move. I'm surprised he survived long enough to pass the class. Why did you do it anyway?"

"He was being a pompous, arrogant bastard. Refusing to answer a simple 'Hello.' That's what I said to him on the train," Sirius explained. "I said hello, because I knew him. And he didn't even grace me with a look. Thinks he is so much better than everyone else just be has 'pedigree.'"

"How did you know him?" James asked. "You never mentioned it before."

"Never had cause to," he said simply. "Father invited his family to a company Christmas party when I was ten."

"Wait a minute. Snape's dad works for your dad?"

"Snape's mom. Don't know where his dad was… So. Anyway. It was a gathering for all the families that worked in the company. Dad had all us kids have a separate party from the adults controlled by some seventh years. I don't think Snape said a word the entire night. I put it up to never having been with such a large group of kids his own age. The youngest there was ten, all going to Hogwarts the next school year.

"When it time to open presents the company was giving out, Snape got the most coveted gift. A complete set of miniature Quidditch players. All the pieces included. Completely customizable. Well naturally everyone wanted to play with it. I'm not entirely certain but I think it was returned broken. You never could tell by the look on his face. Never interacted in the least. When I told my dad about it, he said it was because he was only eight and was still going to school the same year as us. I felt sorry for him at the time. Imagine, being two years younger than everyone and still being smarter. I tried to be friends with him, but the first words he ever spoke to me was after the sorting. He said 'satisfied, Black.' Still doesn't make sense unless he was trying to be an elitist."

"You mean to say he's only thirteen?" James marveled.

"I feel sorry for anyone who tries to befriend him. The git just gets his 'I'm smarter than you are' look and gives you the cold shoulder. Father says his mother is the same way and the only reason he keeps her is because she is a very good curse breaker, identifier, and the like. Rather interested in potions as well."

"What does your dad do anyway?" Remus questioned.

"No idea actually. Something with the Ministry."

"Really. It seems like everyone does 'something' with the Ministry."

* * *

"Snape," a blonde boy called as he walked through the common room. "Practice at eight." Severus nodded to Lucius. Always a bad idea to cross him. "And I need some help in potions." Which really meant I need you to do my homework. He always did. Obeying commands like that kept him out of trouble from his own House. As long as Malfoy needed him, and others who were older, he was relatively safe from in House violence.

Being younger than almost everyone had its drawbacks, but barely anyone knew his age. They all assumed him to just be short, but he was actually very tall for his age. Comparing himself to the third years ensure him of that fact. But nobody knew, or cared. He doubt if any of his teachers knew. Dumbledore did. His mother had to persuade the old man to accept him early (if only to get him out of home life all the faster). They subjected him to countless tests, which he passed with ease. He could have started as fourth year. But Dumbledore had insisted that he experience all seven years of school. His mother had agreed, saying it was the most important time in a man life.

Oddly he wondered if Black knew his real age. He probably did, but being a Gryffindor he probably didn't think it was important. All he really knew was that Severus as smarter than him and he would try his damnedest to prove he was better at something. Severus couldn't blame him for that. Everyone tried to prove that they were better than the child genius. Even the adults. In Potions he wasn't allowed to do anything that wasn't related to the curriculum. But he had been doing Seventh Year work for four years now and was starting to get board. Idly he wondered what he would do his Seventh Year when there were no older students demanding his time. The younger ones were to scared to even ask.

He had come to the conclusion after the first few weeks of his first year that he could only faintly fit in if he acted the same age as his year group. And if that meant putting up with stupid pranks then so be it. Besides he could always show them what a real prank was. So far he had yet to send them to the Hospital wing with anything more than burn blisters, maybe a broken limb. Nothing extremely painful. He didn't play that way unless he had to. Those idiots got hurt worse playing Quidditch than in their pranking duels. Knowing more curses than everyone else in school was terrifying enough. Knowing how to use the curses the rest of them knew in a way the rest wouldn't dream of was a marvel.

But the punishment must always fit the crime. His mother and his father were very adamant about that. His mother always told him at the dinner table that the Ministry had only two forms of punishment. Azkaban and the Dementor's Kiss. And that those two punishment only fit two crimes. Betrayal and murder. And so Severus sat back on his bed and began to think of a punishment for the water balloons and the intended potion. It would be best if he used the same concepts as the Marauders. Wet, smelly, and colorful. This would be fun. He wouldn't have it ready tonight, but he should have it done by Game day. Slytherin verse Gryffindor. Slytherin rarely lost since Malfoy joined the team. So Severus wasn't particularly worried, even if he did not particularly care for the enthusiasm the game created. Nor would he be with other things to occupy his mind. _Forty points,_ he bet himself, _I'll lose forty points, ten for each Gryffindor. I bet I'll get a detention too. Better make it last for only breakfast so I don't double the points._

Dinner dragged by until he was out on the Pitch waiting for Lucius to outline the practice. Then the Gryffindors came out. The whole team. "What are you doing here?" the Slytherin Captain demanded.

"Practice of course." Bracken, the Gryffindor Captain.

"You had your practice yesterday," Lucius growled. He hated being civil.

"We've got permission from Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore to take this practice slot because one of our chasers got sick and we wanted a chance to get our reserve use to the team." Bracken dutifully handed a slip of parchment to Lucius who looked ready to bite his head off.

"This is outrageous. How in Merlin's name do you dare overtake our practice time to ready a mere chaser," Lucius was seething. There was absolutely nothing he could do. The Gryffindors had gone straight to the top with their request and Dumbledore never changed his mind on a whim. "That old coot is going to hear about this." he said dangerously before turning to leave. He stalked off the field refusing to admit defeat. The Slytherins hesitated, not knowing whether to follow their captain or stay on the pitch and hope that they get the time.

"All right team, take to the skies," Bracken clenched it. The Slytherin Quidditch team sulked off. Severus was more interested in the argument Lucius was no doubt holding with Dumbledore at the moment. Not being able to practice would put a damper on their plays but they would just do what they did best. Use physical force not tactics. Whatever the outcome this gave Severus more time to develop his prank. So far he had managed to make the rain cloud to follow whoever was under it, but the color affect and the odor were harder to control.

* * *

The dark green and black common room was quiet. People were mulling over homework or involved in a silent game of chess. Without preamble a gray storm cloud formed overhead. No one paid it much heed until it began to rain.

"What the --" a fourth year boy said as he felt the first drop of the downpour.

Girls began screaming, about being wet, ruining their hair or clothes, or just a wordless high-pitched squeal. Everyone got up and scattered. People hid under the tables. Ran to the dorms just to have a cloud follow. Some just used a book to cover their heads. Suddenly it stopped. It took no longer than five seconds to break the stoic facade of earlier.

Severus appeared on the landing going to the common room. "Did it work?" he asked scientifically curious. All eyes whipped towards the voice. "I guess it did," he said ignoring the glares he received. "Don't worry the affects will wear off in a minute or two. You were only exposed to it for a couple of seconds." Severus turned to leave.

"What were you planning to do with it?" Lestrange asked, sounding annoyed.

Severus shrugged. The older boy had an interesting sense of humor and Severus did not want to fall foul of it. "I was going to use it against the Marauders, but after that little display on the Pitch I thought it might be interesting to let it loose on the entire Gryffindor table. What you witness was a successful attempt at releasing the cloud into a room I am not in. Didn't want anyone to catch me red handed to it."

Lestrange laughed. A cold cruel laugh, but he was very amused. "How far to you have to be to release the cloud?"

"To be accurate I have to be at least twenty meters away from the destination. That way the cloud won't leave a trail to where it was released and just appear where I want it."

"Great idea kid. Hope you pull it off." Lestrange laughed again. "Hey I smell like cherries."

At that exclamation others began to venture out and figure out what the trick did. "Oranges," one boy said, "I hate oranges."

"Better than smelling like a dung bomb had just been released."

"I just can't place it. I know I've smelled this before but I can't name it."

"EEWW. Vomit. That's what it is. Gross."

"Oh good someone got something worse than motor oil."

"Here's one for you, rotting meat."

"That's not rotting meat, you idiot. It's sulfur. And that smells like rotting eggs."

"Big deal. They're both rotting."

"Olives. Yuck."

"Vinegar. Why did I have to smell like I've been pickled."

Snape smirked. His invention worked and he was going to release it a breakfast while he was still to far away for them to finger him. To use a Muggle expression. He wondered why no one had mentioned the color. Neon green was slightly out of place on their uniform, but it would clash terribly on the Gryffindors. He went to sleep content. A very rare occurrence. His Housemates actually approved of his prank and therefore did not mind to terribly once they lost points. And they were sure to loose points for this. Well all the better to beat the pants off the Gryffindors at Quidditch.


	3. Life Gets Interesting

**Life Gets Interesting**

Morning came none to soon and Severus and many other Slytherins conveniently went up to the Great Hall late. His plan was to activate the cloud then walk in a few minutes afterwards to catch the reactions. Then after fifteen minutes the clouds would dissipate, leaving the Gryffindors a bright shade of green and a variety of smells worthy of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean, which was where he got most of his ideas. It would have been to boring to make it one odor, and far to easy. He had begun a talent for devising the some of the more complicated pranks the school had seen. He needed something to do in his spare time.

Fifteen meters to the Great Hall, he hid the flask containing the potion behind a non-magical statue. Whispered a few words, inconspicuously waved his wand and all the while still walking. No one who would report him saw him. He was surrounded by most of the Slytherin team. It was a harmless prank compared to what they were going to do on the Quidditch pitch.

Crabbe was about to open the door when he was sufficiently squashed behind it as a small stampede of girls fled through. He forced himself not to crack a smile. It wouldn't do for the famous unemotional and completely logical Severus Snape to fall under suspicion for something as minor as a facial expression. But the others in his group were laughing outright at the scene. Every one of those girls were sporting a halo of dark gray clouds and streaming neon green tears. The green gave it away as Slytherin, but that's what half the House wanted.

The sight that greeted them was just as good. About half of the Gryffindor table was under the rain cloud, doing their utmost best to ignore it. Fifth years through seventh years were dyed green. Must not have made enough, Severus thought as he surveyed the damage. Unfazed he went to his seat at the Slytherin table. All of whom where attempting to contain their humor. None congratulated him because doing so would incriminate one of their own. Not that he matter much but there was still a since of loyalty to one's own Housemates, however tenuous.

He watched over his breakfast. He could see Black and Potter trying to carry on a normal conversation, but black clouds were forming behind their eyes. Neither spared a glance for the Slytherins, but likely that was all they could do when the cloud formed. His eyes searched for the rest of the team. Bracken was slouched over his meal, in what could be said as dejected. Wood, the seventh year Seeker, was openly glaring at the Slytherins. The Ravenclaws in his way gazing at their plates hoping not to been seen. The two sixth year Beaters, Hover and Pittman, were arguing over some trivial matter.

Severus congratulated himself on a job well done. Now if only his classes could prove to be just as challenging. Fifteen minutes later, the cloud flashed green and disappeared, the potion having been spent. Potter made a defiant show of remaining in place until the last possible moment when the overwhelming stench from the collected Gryffindors began unbearable for the other Houses to stand. Moodily they left to prepare for the Game. It had been surprising that none of the teachers had spoken to them yet.

"Well played, Snape," Malfoy smirked. "Now perhaps you can do the same on the field." Severus nodded. Like he would do anything less than perfect. It was a standard expected from him and the only standard he ever had to try hard to keep.

* * *

Trudging through the corridors, Sirius was in a fit of rage. It had been a personal insult to him. Publicly humiliated with no way to catch the culprit. Snape wasn't even in the room when the prank had been pulled. Even McGonagall had been certain that the perpetrator had to be near the vicinity but no one had exhibited suspicious behavior. When he demanded Snape be found, Professor Slughorn, Head of Slytherin, had assured him that Snape rarely came down early. Besides it was not harmful in the least.

Sirius was not so sure about that last part. Slytherins never made something harmless. He was determined to make this Game the most violent ever. "How is it possible for that greasy little git to get away with it?"

"Sirius, you don't know it was him," Remus consoled. "He wasn't even there when the prank was pulled."

"Yeah. What prankster would not be there to watch the effects?" James reasoned. "Face it, Sirius, it couldn't have been him."

"It had to be. Grumpy is the only one who would have bothered," Black said stubbornly.

"You'll just have to make it up to him in the game today," Peter said. "Let him know you think it was him."

"He already knows I think it was him. He's the only one of those cheating snakes that would put all that time into one prank. Come on James. We have a game to win." Sirius latched a hand on James's shoulder to drag him to the locker room. James, surprised at the force his friend was showing, waved good-bye.

* * *

"Good Morning, Quidditch fans. Welcome to the first game of Gryffindor vs. Slytherin," Gaddius, a seventh year Hufflepuff, announced, being the Hufflepuff captain and supposedly unbiased he was given the opportunity to announce for a game that Hufflepuff did not play in. The Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match was a much-desired game for announcers, not to mention the entire school. Everyone wanted to see the hyped up game and many hoped that there would be more than one per season because the games were so intense.

"We should be in for an exciting match up for the second Quidditch game of the year. The Slytherins have exalted their star player, Lucius Malfoy, to Seeker to Captain this year. Added the exceptional Chaser Evan Rosier and the new Keeper, Severus Snape. Gryffindor is using Sirius Black as a stand in for Shirley Jones. Let us hope he is as good a Chaser as she was, they'll need every ounce of talent available this match. The players take the field. What a rush of color! There seems to be a bit more green than anticipated. Gryffindor is still suffering from Slytherin pride. All the more reason to up the energy of the match. The Snitch is released. And they're off.

"Rosier has the Quaffle. Dodging his way to the Gryffindor goals. Wow! A perfect corkscrew around Potter. Rosier tosses to Lestrange, narrowly avoiding Bracken. And he tosses it in the hoops. 10 points to Slytherin. Potter's grabbed the Quaffle, tossed to Black, tossed back to Potter, . . . That has got to hurt. Estier just plowed over Black. That seventh year sure has bulk. Potter's racing to the Slytherin hoops, well ahead of any Slytherins. That move on Black certainly delayed their play. Spectacular! Snape blocked the Quaffle with an excellent somersault. Never underestimate size in this game."

Snape suppressed a grin. If he was going to prove his worth then he had better stay focus. But it was hard to stay focused when the entire game was being played on the opposite side of the field. There were the odd encounters when Potter or Black managed to wrestle the Quaffle from the Slytherins, but nothing too taxing on the young Keeper. "10 points to Slytherin. Now up by a hundred. Gryffindor chasers had better pick up the offense." The announcer was doing a great job at being neutral since it did not look possible for Gryffindor to win, except by the Snitch. And Malfoy had an excellent track record for finding it. "Ouch. I surprised that's not a penalty. Wilkes makes Bludgers a weapon. 10 more to Slytherin. 140 to nothing. One must ask if there wasn't something in that prank pulled this morning. Gryffindors are . . . . Wait a minute! I do believe Malfoy has spotted the Snitch. Diving right into the middle of the game. What an up set! Black now has the Quaffle and is hell bound not to loose it."

With something to do, Severus watch intently as Black came barreling towards him. Instincts pulled him out of a Bludger's way, the moment Black choose to attempt the score. Racing to catch the Quaffle, another lead ball smashed into his leg. That split second was all it took for Gryffindor to score. The smirk on Black's face was entirely out of place given the lopsided score and Malfoy hot on the Snitch's trail. A small victory granted.

Quaffle now securely in Lestrange's hands, the action moved back to the Gryffindor's goals. Severus took the opportunity to search the skies for Malfoy. He seems to have lost the Snitch. A quick glance at the score, Slytherin up by ten more. Scoring once again before Potter grabbed hold of the Quaffle. Just as the Gryffindor Seeker had spotted the Snitch. Two red blurs raced for him. Golden Snitch in the lead. Malfoy dropping in on Wood, the other Seeker. Snape only had Potter and the Quaffle on his mind. He could afford to loose the Snitch, embarrassing as a tie would be, loosing would be that much worse. Especially after the House spirit he displayed that morning. Malfoy's anger would just have to be faced. The stupid Snitch was still directed the same as Potter. He released the Quaffle behind the Snitch, forcing Snape to fly in Malfoy's path. Malfoy swerved. Wood, seeing this opportunity increased his speed and went through the hoop meant for the Quaffle, Malfoy hot on his tail.

"Great save, but will it cost them the Snitch?" Gaddius roared into the microphone. "It's going to be close, folks. Both Seekers are neck'n'neck for this one. What's this?! Pittman just bashed a Bludger at Malfoy. It seems his broom is not functioning right. Wood's caught the Snitch!! Gryffindor wins!!"

"Mr. Gadduis, I'm afraid you need to check the score," Dumbledore's voice sounded.

"Uh. Sorry Professor, natural reaction. It seems we have a tie, folks. 160 Slytherin to 160 Gryffindor. Certainly a precedent between these to teams."

"Snape!" Malfoy bellowed riding his broken broom up to meet him. "How dare you! You cost me the Snitch! We would have wiped the floor with those fools, but you had to fly DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME!! HOW DARE YOU!!"

"It was not certain, Malfoy," Severus responded. He appeared calm, but he was seething. He had saved them from the embarrassment Malfoy would reap upon his head for loosing the game by a measly ten points. "Both you and Wood could have easily plowed through. It was evident you diverted your course more than Wood. You are just disappointed you didn't get the glory of the Snitch." He was treading on thin ground. Malfoy's anger was hard to appease.

"The kid's right, Lucius," Lestrange said. "As humiliating as it is, it is far better than loosing by ten. You'd just beat up on him for not going for the Quaffle. Face it, Lucius, the only reason you didn't get the Snitch was that Pittman. I dare say he's picked up one too many of our techniques." Lestrange's defense was an odd one. One Snape expected he would have to repay in some form or another. "Come on. We can look at new brooms. I hear the Cleansweep is coming out with a new model. About time you broke your old one." With that, Malfoy and Lestrange were gliding down to the rest of the team chattering about broomsticks.

Severus followed. Not eager to face the rest of the team.

"Hey, Grumpy!!" the familiar annoying Black called. "I'm surprised to see you still standing. I'll have to talk to Pittman about how hard he hits. He intended to knock you off your broom." The taunting laugh followed Black and his friends. So Black was of a mind to get rid of him. Not bloody likely. Sirius Black didn't know it. But the stakes just rose higher. Next time will not be justice, but revenge, he vowed. The time had some to out do the over confident Gryffindor. Class was no longer a challenge for Severus Snape, now he had found a substitute. How many ways could he humiliate Black.


	4. Revenge

**Revenge**

"That slimy git," Sirius muttered all the way back to the common room. "That greasy slime ball. I can't believe him. Ruining a perfectly good morning with his prank." The tall lanky boy dropped unceremoniously onto one of the red upholstered chairs viewing the fire.

"You don't know it was him," Remus said, more as a fact than out of conviction.

"I know it was him." Sirius Black glowered into the flames. The look was so out of place on his normally charming face. Stained in neon green was not helping matters either.

Remus knew better than to argue with his friend. Once a thought stuck it was not going to be dislodged until the counter-thought was shoved in his face. And even then it was hard to get Sirius to change face. Relaxing into the wing back across from Sirius, Remus turned his thoughts to the moon. Two weeks from now he would lock himself in the Shrieking Shack and wait out the moon cycle.

"So, Sirius," James said as he walked through the portrait hole. "Have you thought about a way to get back at him?"

Remus groaned. "Not you too. You can't prove anything."

"I know," James answered casually. "But I'm not about to let some Slytherin out do our efforts. Besides every Gryffindor knows it was Snape. It will boost moral. Especially after that loss we suffered." He took a seat on the couch opposite Peter. It was not technically a loss but a tie was just as bad to him. It was an all or nothing game.

"We all know the real reason James is after Snape," Peter piped up. "He's just upset that Snivellus block both his attempts and not Sirius's."

"I suppose this means I get a permanent position on the Team," Sirius sniffed, worthy of Lucius Malfoy. Peter couldn't suppress a chuckle over the imitation.

"Not if I can help it," James countered, grinning. "Can't stand the competition. Why would I let you have all the girls and be a Quidditch star."

"Like you look at anyone besides Lily." Black sat up straighter and leaned in conspiratorially. "You've taken a fancy and are too afraid to admit it."

"I do not fancy her," Potter defended far to quickly. "She's a friend." Sirius nodded knowingly and sat back in his chair.

At that moment Remus noticed Lily walk down from the girl's dorm. "Evening, Lily," he called, waving her over.

"Evening, Remus," she returned. "I'm not intruding on anything, am I?" She sat on the couch next to James.

"Of course not, Lily," Sirius stated jovially. "In fact I was wondering if you would be so kind as to give us a charm . . . "

"No," she said flatly. "I have told you before I will not be party to the Marauder's Reign of Terror. Giving you the ammunition is just as bad as participating in it first hand. Let me guess, you're after Severus again, aren't you."

"Right in one!"

"Can't you pick on someone new, Sirius? Surely you can get any number of Slytherins mad at you. Why him?"

"Because he is the only one who really retaliates," he said seriously. "And there are just some people you can't help but hate. Malfoy and Snape are very high on that list. Only Malfoy's reactions are too predictable."

"Yeah," James butted in. "The aristocratic git gets into a huff, yells a bit, then storms off to someone of authority. You saw how he reacted when Bracken took his practice time. It's always like that."

"And what better way to pass the time than to show those elitist that no one likes their views. Even you have to agree that they are gits for ridiculing you because of your birth."

"That's not the point, Sirius. You've been at Severus for . . . going on five years now. It's getting rather old. He knows who pulled a prank on him. You know he pulls a prank on you. I thought the point of pranks was to humiliate someone and not get into trouble. You get into far too much trouble playing the same victim. And I find the act of pulling pranks extremely childish."

"But Lily," Sirius whined. "We are children. We're just acting our age." Remus ducked his head to hide the grin blossoming on his face as Sirius pulled his famed 'puppy-dog' look on Lily. No matter how many times it fails, his friend would never give it up. "Come on, it's just one charm. It's not like we're going to kill him or anything."

"No. I refuse to be party to your practical jokes."

"So you won't even tell us a good reference?"

"You read? That's laughable. Are you so desperate that you will actually search a book? I never thought I'd see the day." Sirius kept up the puppy eyes imploringly. Lily sighed, defeated. "What exactly did you have in mind?" she asked exasperated.

Sirius gave a blank look. "Well . . . I don't know."

"What he means," James explained. "Is that the prank has not been devised in entirety." Lily was giving him a look that said 'If you don't give me a reason I'm calling the whole thing off.' "We were waiting to figure out what type of spell would work best," digging his hole deeper. Then as if a light clicked on he said, "Hallucination."

"Oh, if that's all. You would have better affects from a potion, but given your ability in that field you were right in wanting a charm. You'd have the best luck with the book Hallucinating: Charm or Potion. I don't see why you needed me to tell you that." Lily stood and left to do some of her homework.

"She's got a point, James," Remus said. "We could have easily found that book if we went looking."

"Now, look Moony," Sirius said sitting up straighter. "The point was getting her to give us the charm. I guess we have to trek into the library this weekend. Hallucinations, James?"

"I don't know. That was just the first thing that came to mind. Though, think about it. What better way to get back at Grumpy than to make him see his worst nightmares in class."

"This will be perfect," Sirius cried out in an epiphany. "Not only will we prank Snape, we can sabotage his studies!"

"You get far to into this, Sirius," Remus said leaning back in his chair. "I thought you just wanted to get back at him for staining our skin green."

"I do," he defended. "But what's the point in creating a prank if you can't out do the other guy. I want to be the greatest prankster this school has ever seen, and I will not let that greasy little git get in my way."

"I don't know, Sirius," James said in an overly serious tone. "Sounds a little Slytherin to me."

"How could you say such a thing, Prongs?" Sirius asked in mocked shock. "We all know that it is far from the truth."

"Quite so," Remus said. "We all know that Sirius here does not know what it means to be a Slytherin at all. Unlike the rest of his family."

"Now wait a minute . . ."

"You've got a point there, Remus," James said as though starting a philosophical debate. "Do we really know what it means to be a Slytherin anyway?"

"Cunning," said Peter, reciting out the list of qualities Salazar Slytherin was said to favor.

"Yes," James nodded his head in consideration. "I'd say Sirius here can be said to have cunning. Think about all the mischievous deeds he has done."

"Sly."

"We're not sure about that one," James continued. "But no one can blame him for not having an excuse."

"Manipulative."

"He's got that one covered. Every time he gives Lily those puppy eyes."

"Hold on here, James. Just what to you think you are doing?"

"I'm just trying to explain to Remus, here, that you do know what a Slytherin is."

"How? By trying to make me look like one of them? I am not a lying, cheating, evil, sadistic bastard."

"He's got a point. He's not evil," Remus said in Sirius's defense. "Nor a bastard, nor sadistic."

"Are you implying that I lie and cheat?"

"Absolutely not," Remus said sounding offended. "You would never out right lie, a omission every now and again is nothing. As for cheating, that goes against your very fiber of being. I didn't mention those because I though they were obvious."

Sirius growled low, but couldn't hide the grin threatening to break his face. "Very funny. Almost had me there. Come on. We have a book to look at."

* * *

Severus Snape hid in the library after the game. The last thing he wanted was to face Lucius Malfoy. The aristocrat would want to release all his anger and frustration out on him. Usually in the forms of curses. He was thankful the boy knew very few dark curses that were especially harmful. And he had yet to master the Unforgivables, probably because his father had just started teaching them.

What Lucius failed to see was that Severus had nothing to do with him missing the Snitch. If his broom had not been broken by that Bludger then he would have succeeded no matter how close that Gryffindor was. Lucius just did not want to admit that someone could get the better of him. So, Severus avoided him. And would avoid everyone on the team until Lucius had calm down. Which might take a week or so, which gave him plenty of time to study on his own.

At the moment he was reading through a potions book that had been dedicated to alumni who wanted to do some research. It was in that section determined to be far to advanced for seventh years. But it was potions. Once you learned the basic theory of the ingredients following the directions is not difficult. Then just knowing how the ingredients reacted together one could experiment fairly safely. His father had already given his consent for him to take the Potions Master's exam once Dumbledore agreed to it. Which meant he would have to wait until after the N.E.W.T.S. He didn't mind terribly, but he was starting to get bored. Right then he only had the O.W.L.S. to prepare for. And he had begun to look forward to the pranks and all the ways he could get back at them. Foolproof pranks were simple. It was the ones that took careful planning and precision to work. And the sense of danger of being caught in the act was, for lack of a better word, exciting.

He flipped through one of the 'harder' potions book, looking for something interesting to put his mind to. If he couldn't construct the potion in actuality, he would do so mentally.

Glancing around the room, he saw Potter and Black disappear behind the Charms section of the library. After a few minutes they returned with one slim book. It was not one he recognized. Oddly enough he got curious as to what the self-named Marauders were doing. Them being in the library at all was suspicious enough, but with one book between the four of them . . .

He went to investigate. Unobtrusively he walked down the aisles under the pretest of searching for a text. He managed to get very close to Potter's table. On the open page he glimpse a section entitled, "Why a Potion is better than a Charm." It wasn't much help in deciphering what they were reading, so he moved passed and allowed them to continue searching. Coming around again he glanced over the books in his hands and recognized one of the potions listed in the book. A hallucination potion. A complex one at that. Slightly puzzled he went back to his seat.

So, their next prank was going to involve hallucinations. At least he had time to figure out how to combat it and plan the perfect revenge.


	5. Revenge Played Out

**Revenge Played Out**

The four of them sat at the back of the transfiguration's classroom and waited for the Slytherins to enter. One Slytherin in particular. They had revenge to claim. For once in their life they were not whispering before the start of class. They had everything planned. McGonagall always entered after the class had assembled. They could strike then. Hit quickly and quietly without disrupting the class. They did not want anyone to be able point to them.

James would do the actual casting since he had master the charm better than the others. He still wasn't certain about the charm but he at least managed to have some success. Sirius and Remus would engage others in conversation to distract them from what were really doing. And Peter was to keep an eye on the enemy to make sure he never suspected a thing. It was almost militaristic in its lay out. Nothing could go wrong.

As expected the Slytherins filed in, last among them was Severus Snape, nose in a book that know doubt belonged in the Restricted section of the library. Remus and Sirius were already occupied with their duties and Peter was certain no one was paying James any attention. The time to act was now. "Ecco territo visum," James whispered as he cast the charm on Snape. Nothing appeared to happen. At least Snape decided not to react, which was a plus for their entire operation. The next moment McGonagall entered and everyone went to their seat. "Did it work?" he asked quietly as Sirius slid into the desk beside him.

"I don't know. We'll have to wait for something to happen."

They watched as McGonagall approached the chalkboard and began to lecture. Today they would be transfiguring hedgehogs into pincushions.

Severus groaned inwardly. It wasn't that he didn't like transfiguration it was just that he didn't like the atmosphere. How could anyone learn anything surrounded by idiots of all levels? He found it extremely difficult to concentrate when it appear that half the class was out to get you. The Gryffindors to prove they are better than you and the Slytherins to prove they can hold something over your head. He had gotten use to his own House rivalries and managed to play them to his advantage, without Lucius knowing of course. Why would a fifth year be able to manipulate anyone lower than their own year. The upperclassmen wanted him to do their work, in return he got knowledge that he could dangle over their heads. Without them realizing they got the loosing end of the bargain.

He had become increasingly paranoid when it came to Black and Potter. They were known to pull pranks right in front of teachers and got away with them. Even their own House was wary of their achievements. They had gained quite a reputation and therefore received a great deal of publicity, such as pranks attributed they could not possibly have done, or would never have done. There was a running bet in Slytherin about how far they could go without being caught red handed. Of course everyone wanted them to be caught and some like Severus tried to go out of their way to make sure that happened.

It hadn't yet. Which ever teacher was present at the time of the prank was always too blind to see the perpetrators, thus they got away. He knew one of these days they would get caught and their reputation would be ruined. How he hoped he could be the cause of that wondrous catastrophe.

But right know he was more worried about what he had seen in that book in the library. It was impossible for any one of those imbeciles to brew a potion that complex. So there must be something else of importance in that book. He cursed himself for not searching the shelves after they had left. It had been taken from the charms section so they must have been searching for a charm. But were they competent enough to learn one of those charms. They were difficult. He knew from studying his mother's books. Hallucination charms were among the most difficult a wizard could learn. One it took enormous desire for the charm to stick, not to mention the strong will power to cast it in the first place. He was more familiar with the dark side of charms than what they taught at school, but the principles were still the same.

He was still working out how they could pull off the hallucination trick when McGonagall started placing hedgehogs on their desks. Many of the girls from both Houses immediately started cooing over their short time pets. Avery sitting beside him whispered the unpleasant comment about hedgehogs dying if the transformation was incorrect loud enough for most of the Slytherin girls to hear and some of the Gryffindors. Of course it was the other House that was more upset by the notion. Severus knew that was untrue, but why ruin the boy's fun, might just have multiple failures.

Gazing down at his assignment he sighed. Might as well get it over with. There wasn't a question of him not being able to perform the incantation correctly, it was a matter of who wanted to see him fail this time. Closing his eyes he pictured what he wanted, opened them to find. A green hedgehog. He hadn't even cast the spell yet and he was already imagining ways of failing. Shaking his head to clear his sight and mind, he stared at the animal again. It was the normal brown. He had no explanation for seeing a green hedgehog so did not comment. He waved his wand and said the incantation. Only to have the thing turn green.

He tried it again. Still green. Nudging Avery he asked, "What color is mine?" He felt stupid for asking, but if the thing really was green then he could blame it on someone else. Which was what he was hoping for.

Avery gave him a puzzled look. "Brown. Why?"

"Nothing. Just thought I was seeing things," he lied. Thought? He knew he was seeing things. But why in Merlin's name was he seeing a green hedgehog. Looking back at the spiky animal, he saw that it was normal again. It couldn't be stress. There was no reason for him to be stressed. No one had talked to him today so why be worried about one little transfiguration assignment.

He was so worked up in trying to figure out what was wrong that he did not notice the Professor coming up to his desk.

"Well, Mr. Snape," she said. "It doesn't seem that you have made any progress on today's assignment." The class snickered. Everyone seemed to enjoy it when he failed at something. He supposed it gave them something to hope for. "Perhaps you will have more success with this assignment than last week's. You're interpretation of a toadstool was most interesting." Severus stared sullenly at the desk in front of him, wishing that McGonagall would leave. That was not an incident he wanted brought up again. He was still living that down within his own House.

They were suppose to have turned a toad into a toadstool, the little mushrooms that claimed the name. Somehow he managed to make a stool-looking toad. He blamed it on his exact way of thinking. Unfortunately the incident lead to the vast amusement of Potter and his gang. If he could only concentrate, he would be just fine.

He turned his attention back to his assignment. That was how he needed to think of this. A simple assignment. Treat it like a potion project. Clear your head of everything that is not related to the problem, then concentrate on what was needed to solve the problem. Transfigurations did not fit well in the analytic viewpoint he possessed. But he could always force it to fit.

Sirius was staring at Snape over his completed work. "I think you did something wrong," he whispered to James. "Nothing's happening."

"I'm certain I did everything right. Didn't the book say that on some people it took more time for the charm to work? We did use one of the weaker spells. We just need to give it time."

"He's already had an hour," Sirius complained. He disliked waiting for results. The faster something could be done, the better. And when it involved Snivellus all the better to get the results and have a good laugh over them. He could say it was the highlight of his day when they pulled a prank on the little Potion's freak.

"Think about it this way," James consoled. He knew about Sirius's inability to wait. "At this rate we can watch him mess up in potions. Which would be much better than this class."

Black let a malicious grin creep out onto his face. "I bet his worst nightmare is ruining a potion."

"You're on. Ten knuts says that he has the hallucination in potions, but it's not about potions."

"Ten knuts, it's about a ruined potion," Sirius agreed. "Do you think we should let Remus and Peter in on this?"

"Sure, more money for the victor." With that settled they placed the bets. Remus said that he would ruin the potion he was working on, and Peter held out that he would have a hallucination in Transfigurations.

"All right class, turn in your projects and you may leave," Professor McGonagall said from the front of the room. "Excellent work, Miss Evans. Well, Mr. Avery, it appears that you have finally figured out what you are suppose to be doing in this class. Ah, Mr. Pettigrew. I don't think I should have to remind you, but pincushions do not have legs."

James and Sirius watched as Snape hastily put his hedgehog with the others, snickering to themselves.

"Green, Mr. Snape?" McGonagall accused. The look on Snape's face was priceless. Complete and utter confusion. Followed shortly thereafter one of shock.

"But . . . I. . . " he stammered. There was no way he could get out of this one. But why was the thing green now when it wasn't a few minutes ago?

"I had expected better from you. Though I am not quite certain as to how you managed to change its color with this incantation. By the next lesson I expect you to have preformed this task flawlessly."

Snape stared at her in shock. "Yes, Professor," he muttered to the floor then turned and walked out to the subdued chorus of snickers and jibes. James managed to hear him mumble, "I was certain . . . ." before he went out of hearing range.

"See, what did I tell you," Peter whispered to them in the hall. "During Transfigurations."

"We can't be sure," Remus answered. "The spell is suppose to make him see his worst nightmare. I don't think thinking a hedgehog is something else counts."

"But it's still an hallucination," he protested.

"We'll wait and see how this escalates," James stated. "If he doesn't have a more profound vision in Potions then we'll count you as the victor." Upon reaching the dungeon labs the found Snape staring glassy eyes at the front of the room. No one seemed concerned about it. Probably because no one desired to get cursed by taunting the boy face to face. "We wanted something big. I think we'll get it."

* * *

ecco= behold

territo= frightening

visum= sight

Disclaimer: Forgive me. I don't know what it is about Snape and hedgehogs, but they just go so well together. Greenie from "My Name's Severus" by Silverfox inspired the green hedgehog. I would like to give a great big thank you to OS from telling me the story and author. Thank you so much, OS.


	6. Occurrence

**Occurrence**

Something was decidedly wrong. There was absolutely no explanation for that large black spot to cross his vision. None. It disappeared quick enough. But he was intelligent enough to know what was normal in the wizarding world and what wasn't. And blacking out for a moment was not normal. Either something was seriously wrong with him or he was the victim of some curse. He was betting on the curse but could not figure out who or when it might have happened. He took it back. He knew exactly who was responsible, but had no way of apprehending the culprits.

Whatever Potter and Black had done, he was stuck with until after Potions. There was no way he could get away with pulling his wand during class. Severus was just going to have to wait. Wait and hope whatever curse they used does not reveal itself until then. He still didn't know how they managed it, but it had to have been in Transfigurations. Which explained the green hedgehog. For the most part.

Better not dwell on that and focus on the potion. Something simple and completely understandable. An anti-inflammatory potion for Madam Pomfrey's stores. Nothing complicated, but he decided on working as slow as possible as to take up most of the class period. If he was to sit idle, then he was certain Potter's curse would react faster.

Thankfully there was an odd number of Slytherins. He did not want to have to work with someone today. Not that he ever did. It was one of the few things Professor Slughorn allowed him. Though he suspected that it was because he expected the perfect potion and when it was for another teacher he didn't want to have it ruined, thus making him produce it himself. Distributing the workload. It wouldn't be so bad, he thought, if they let him take on some of those projects. Anything to keep him out of the Slytherin common room.

A flash of black appeared in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to look, but there was nothing there. Strange.

His potion was yellow instead of green. He wondered when that happened. He picked up the lacewings to correct the problem, then stopped. Could it be another trick of the sight caused by that curse? Or did he really have a mistake? If he waited too long the mistake would be uncorrectable. But he would still have time to scratch this one and make a new batch. He opted to use the lacewings. At least adding lacewings to a perfect would not result in a disaster. He idly wondered what the results would be if he added more than the required lacewings to correct his potion to a perfect potion. True it would not be disastrous, but he hadn't read about this mistake.

Theory told him lacewings were primarily used in binding potions similar to Muggle glue. He was also certain that in addition to the sticky, to use a less than professional term, attribute there should be an illuminant by the reactions between lacewings and unicorn hairs. It would be interesting to find out. He dropped the lacewings into the potion.

Nothing changed. Odd.

Something flashed just out of eyesight. Vampires moved like that. But it was impossible for those things to be on school grounds. Was it possible for one to find its way here without Dumbledore knowing?

He shook his head violently. No that was impossible. No one could enter without someone from the school knowing. Especially that half giant groundskeeper, Hagrid.

He cautiously surveyed the classroom. Everyone was far too busy with their potion's assignment to see anything. Or at least that was what it appeared. Was it possible for them not to notice? Of course it was. He was talking about the class with the reputation for not paying attention. Very few could divert their attention in two directions.

But what was it that he was seeing? There was no logical explanation for the shadows he was seeing. Everything had to have logic. That was the state of nature.

The shadow flashed directly in front of his vision but it had absolutely no shape. Though it was accompanied by a whisper of wind. It was so clear he couldn't believe no one saw it as well. It was safe to say he was slightly spooked. Things without explanation just don't fly around unseen.

"This is lame," Sirius complained. "It's been two class periods since you cast that spell and nothing has happened. Are you sure you said it right?"

"Yes, I'm sure I said it right," James imitated his friend's bored tone. "If you recall we decided on a generic spell for nightmares as opposed to the victim's worst nightmare. We could have just used a boggart for that."

"Even so something should have happened by now."

"As far as we know something has," he reasoned. "The entire spell is seen only by the victim. The only indication we have that he is seeing something is his reaction. And you know how hard it is to get Snape to perform anywhere below excellence."

"I will admit that Transfigurations was fun with him changing the hedgehog green. Though I'd love to know how he did that. We could make his hair permanently red."

"You think to small sometimes, Sirius. We need more like this."

"Like this, where all we do is sit and pray that something happens?"

"What! Is the Great Sirius Black doubting my skill?"

"Yes," Black said bluntly.

"Hey. James," Remus said from the table beside him. "Snape managed to ruin his potion."

"How so?"

"I have no idea. It's an orangey-yellow. Have any idea what it might do?"

"Nope. Do you know what he added?"

"No. Just happened to get a glance at it. And I know it is not suppose to turn that color."

"Well, let's find out what it does. Peter, do you have any of those firecrackers left?

"Of course. You want me to toss one in?"

"Yep."

"Sirius, you have no idea what that might do," Remus warned. "It could be explosive for all we know."

"Well, it certainly will be once it has a firecracker in it. And it sure beats all this waiting. A master prank happens immediately. That way you get the enjoyment of watching it."

"He's already ruined the potion," Remus pointed out. "And he hasn't fixed it yet. So it is safe to assume that he is distracted by something."

"And since we won't be able to find out what it is," Sirius continued his line of reasoning, "We might as well have some fun."

"Sirius, did you ever think that throwing a firecracker in a botched potion could back fire?" James asked in all seriousness. Last time a potion was exploded the people nearest the explosion developed a rash of boils. It had included half the Gryffindors in the front rows.

"Nothing's going to happen, James. Snape's on the other side of the room and only Slytherins will be affected. Where's the harm in that? Come on, Peter. Let's see what the potion will do." And then Peter tossed the firecracker, with the help of his wand, into Snape's cauldron. Luckily, Professor Slughorn was busy explaining a mistake to some of their classmates in the front of the room.

"Ten seconds before it blows," Peter stated, staring into his own cauldron, trying not to draw attention to himself.

It was perhaps the longest ten seconds Black had ever had to wait. He was disappointed in their hallucination idea. It had seemed like such a good plan. Scare the git into embarrassing himself in class. It hadn't worked as well as he had hoped, but Snape did managed to fail the transfiguration's assignment, so something was going on. And now the potion was wrong and he just wanted to bring attention to it.

The muffled explosion drew his attention back to the present long enough to escape flying gel. Rising from his place of cover, he nearly betrayed himself by rolling on the floor laughing. Snape was plastered on the floor by his potion. And glowing, of all things, a brilliant red. It couldn't have worked better than if he had planned it himself.

"Mr. Snape," Professor Slughorn said in a most shocked tone. Snape had never fallen victim to an exploding potion in years. "Have you been experimenting again?" he asked. Sirius knew that Slughorn wanted nothing more than to catch Snape not following his instructions.

"No, ma'am."

"Then how did THIS happen?"

"I don't know."

"You will remain after class and clean up this mess. And that will be ten points from Slytherin for interrupting class. Now as for the rest of you, return to your own cauldrons before you experience another disaster."

"Er... Professor?" Avery said. "I can't get my hand off the table. It seems to be stuck."

"I'm stuck to my stool, Professor," another Slytherin said.

"My ladle is stuck to my hand, Professor," Faith Dripson, a Gryffindor, said.

"Well, it seems like this is more of a problem than I first anticipated. Mr. Snape what were you working on this time?"

"The inflammatory potion."

"Likely. And what went wrong?"

"Too many lacewings," Snape mumbled under the chorus of giggles. "Leech juice and lemon grass should dissolve it," he added, as if it would help his predicament. Slughorn look as if he was torn between giving points for knowing how to solve the problem or taking more away for having the gall to make such a statement as though implying he would not have arrived at the same conclusion.

"Those of you who are able, finish your potions. As for the rest, make do until I can get the dissolving solution ready." She opted not to do anything further about the points.

"Well, that was amusing," Sirius whispered to his friends. "And to think, it wouldn't have happened it we didn't shoot him with that hallucination spell. Though it would still be nice to know what he is scared of."


	7. On The Dry Edge

**On the Dry Edge**

Stupid Gryffindors. How was it everything that went wrong centered on those four. He simply grew tired of it all. His potion was not at all explosive. He had fished out a solid lump and had broken it to find the chard remains of a firecracker. Damn Gryffindors. At least his Housemates knew better than to drop something explosive into anything he was working on. Not if they wanted to survive their next potion exam. That potion held potential. Now he just needed to find out if something similar already had a patent on it. He was not going to be brought down by the patent office. Not while he knew worse things to get in trouble with.

But first he needed to find out what was making him lose his concentration in class today. It was obviously something pertaining to Potter and his gang. Most likely dealing with that book they were reading the other day. Off hand he could not think of a hallucination spell, but he knew plenty of potions. And those idiots couldn't make the simplest of them. It had to be a spell, but what book was it from.

He snapped his head to his right. He had seen something. He was sure of it. Damn shadows. He would go to hell before he told anyone that he was seeing things. But at least he knew that they were not real and they were not a manifestation of a weak mind. No, he, Severus Snape, was as sane as the next wizard. And the shadows didn't even have a shape.

As loathed as he was to admit it, perhaps that was the reason he lost focus. Everything had to make some logical sense and those things were not. They were not logical in any degree.

He wondered it he could skip lunch and spend the time searching the library. His mother would be livid should she ever find out. Not that she would really do anything.

"Snape, I heard about your little fiasco in Potions this morning." Malfoy. Why did it always have to be that rich snob. And how did he know the exact moments when Severus preferred to be alone.

"Malfoy," he nodded in greeting.

"So tell me, was the potion useful?"

He cringed. How could news travel so quickly. It seemed as if there was no time delay in spreading gossip. "Not in the way you are alluding to. Probably nothing more than a good prank," he conceded.

"Disappointing to say the least, but come. I'm sure we can find something worthwhile to discuss."

So much for a quite lunch in the library. He was now faced with insulting a high standing aristocrat or face mass humiliation. And social law dictated that the former was a crime and the latter merely an annoyance. Damn social structure. So he forced himself to be compliant to Malfoy's nudging and turned a deaf ear to most of his prattling. It wouldn't do to ignore him completely.

* * *

"All right, James Potter. Which charm was it?" Lily could be down right scary when she wanted to be. And she had seen the events today. None of them were simple hallucination charms. She had actually considered most of those spells to be beyond what those four were capable of. She had been wrong. Though she did not want her friends to get in trouble, because they could easily point to her, it was not fair that someone should have to suffer through those charms.

She had deliberately given them a book that contained mainly spells that took effect quickly and wore off almost immediately. Not something that could take over to four hours to dissolve. Unfortunately she had not memorized that book and did not know all of the spells off hand. But she could identify it once she knew the name.

At the moment James and Sirius were looking decidedly guilty. Peter had run off to lunch the moment class let out and was no where to be seen. Remus was present but merely looked sheepish.

"Some generic terror charm," James mumbled.

"It could not have been generic to have lasted this long."

"It said it took awhile to work," Sirius protested.

"What was the spell?" Lily repeated. "And if Remus has to tell me, you are going to regret it."

"It didn't have an English translation, Lily," Sirius said.

"That right there should have told you it was not a generic charm."

"But it was easy to cast," now James was protesting.

"Then I suppose our little friend Peter could cast it."

"Well, no" It was a well know fact that Peter Pettigrew was one of the worst students in Charms Hogwarts had seen in a long time.

"What was the charm, James?"

"Ecco Territo Visum."

"You managed to cast that?" Lily could not help but be impressed. While not a difficult charm to cast it took a lot of concentration to pull it off. But it did produce images meant to frighten the victim. "Didn't you read any further did you?" she accused. "That particular charm does not wear off. It's going to remain until the counter charm is given. And you are going to cast it, James Potter."

"But Lily . . . ."

"Sirius, think about it. How would you like a hallucination to haunt you for weeks, or months, or even years. If you had read the history you would have learned that that type of charm was used by Aurors to flush out enemies." It was a favorite tool among Aurors. The images it produced gave the victim the feeling of being watched and hunted, not just to terrorize. The theory was that the victim would make a mistake so the authorities could catch him.

"Wow. You mean we found a cool charm like that? Why don't they teach us these in school?" Sirius marveled.

"Because morons like you would try to use them. Now if you will excuse me. I'm going to lunch." She abruptly turned her back on them and made her way to the Great Hall.

"Gee, you don't think she has a thing for Snivellus, do you?"

"James. How could you think that?" Sirius said in his best impersonation of the red haired witch.

"I mean, with the way she acted I would have to say she actually like the git."

"You know Lily, James," Remus spoke up. "She cares about everyone. She just doesn't like the idea that someone suffers."

"Yeah, you're right," James said gloomily. "You don't suppose she would accept an apology, would she?"

"Not at the moment."

"Then I suppose we just have to get something to eat and then figure out what to do," Sirius said already walking to the Great Hall.

"That guy is absolutely insensitive," James told Remus and Remus could only shrug.

* * *

Why couldn't the overgrown, bleached idiot just leave him alone? It wasn't as if Malfoy was lacking for suck ups. That's what happens when you the son of the richest wizard in Great Britain. As if it mattered to Severus. Most likely after his schooling at Hogwarts he would just go back to Spain and be ignored in general. Which wouldn't be a bad thing in and of itself. What would a Potions Master want from the upper level social circles? Now if only Malfoy would entertain himself with the rest of the easily awed Slytherins.

How he hated the Great Hall. Too many people. Too loud. Too public. And today it would be worse. The sense of foreboding increase as it came apparent that Malfoy would 'escort' him into the Hall. If there was anything he want to live down, it would be the fiasco in Potions. There was absolutely no possibility of rooting the blame where it belonged.

"So, Severus," Lucius began on another line of conversation now that he was required to include many other well known names. "How was this potion of yours created? I find it quite unusual for you to do anything other than the expected."

Why here? Severus just want the earth to open up and swallow him whole. Anything would be better than trying to explain why he ruined a potion. He couldn't just tell then he was seeing shadows. And that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Even if it was a curse. The humiliation of admitting that would alone kill him.

Potter was going to pay.

Lie. That was the only option. Well, he could just go to St. Mungo. At least then he wouldn't have to deal with rich snobs and arrogant prigs.

"I was bored and wanted to experiment."

"That's not what you told Slughorn," Avery said haughtily.

"Like I would blatantly get myself in trouble with the likes of him. As I said I was bored."

"So, how did the potion explode?"

"A firecracker," he said simply. The gang of Slytherins around their area of the table began to laugh. He shrugged slightly. It was not a secret that he was the subject of the overdone prank of fireworks in a cauldron. If anything he was the recipient of the majority of such attacks than any other grade level.

"It's a shame the experiment could not be of any use," Malfoy commented on dryly. "I do believe those are the culprits right now," he said drawing the attention to the main doors. The last thing Snape wanted. Then directly in his line of sight a shadow emerged from behind the door. It was shaped vaguely like a human, but the proportions were grotesque.

Hastily he suppressed a shiver. Human forms were just not suppose to look like that. What was going on? Were his fears being amplified? Surely not. He was not afraid of shadows and most definitely not of Potter. Without warning the thing vanished. Vanished, leaving him with the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. Which he knew was not impossible, especially considering the gossip of the morning.

But this sense was beyond what that could produce. It was strong enough to make him want to run. But he couldn't do that without ruining his reputation.

Potter and Black were up to something. Instead of choosing to insulting him they ignored him completely. Obviously the action was opposite from what Lucius was expecting as well.

Now if he could just escape the Great Hall without incident he could hide in the library and try to undo what Potter had done.


	8. The Reveal

**The Reveal**

All right, he knew he wasn't suppose to be sneaking around after hours, but never before had he felt so exposed. He imaged that around every corner Flitch was waiting, not that he had to worry much about that Squib. But this was ridiculous. Usually he felt quite safe during his trip to his secret workroom.

Severus turned the corner and barely contained a swear.

What stood before him was an unidentifiable figure of a human holding what was distinguishable as shackles and manacles.

It was not real. He knew that. It was not real.

He still ran in the other direction.

Mentally he knew it was not real, but mentally he knew it would follow.

The library excursion had been an utter waste of time. He had no idea where to look. If he could at least determine whether the spell created the images or enhanced dreams and nightmares, Severus was certain he could find out exactly which spell had been placed on him. However the frights that haunted him were never the same. Still he had to find a way to remove the spell or suffer these terrors constantly. Resting against the cool stonewall, Severus caught his breath and attempted to gather his wits. He had to make it to his workroom. Trying to sleep in the dorms would be impossible with these rather insistent images terrorizing him.

Long before he was ready to continue, Severus heard voices. Hurriedly he scampered for the nearest corner to hide. There was no telling where the sounds were coming from. Reality or his imagination. Better safe than sorry, Severus chose to hide and pray the whispers were real.

X

"Shh…" James motioned for the three others to quiet down. They were approaching a cross in the corridors and did not want to alert anyone on the other halls. The map they had been working on was not quite in the final stages. Knowing what they wanted out of the spells and actually achieving it were completely different matters. Their journey this evening was in part to work on their masterpiece and in part to display something much more dramatic. "Almost there." He waved them forward, intent on the secret exit to the grounds. There was a safer place waiting for them just beyond the grand old willow. Moony had taken them to the Shrieking Shack many times during the last couple of years, when he could trust his friends with the Secret. Never during the full moon of course. But for the rest of the month the shack outside of Hogsmede became an excellent club house when they needed to get away and plan the next big event.

Sirius couldn't wait until they arrived. They had their own secret to share this time around. Almost two years of practice finally paid off. He was more than ready to show off. Waiting until they reached the shack seemed ridiculous. They could just as easily show off in an empty classroom. But James was right, it wouldn't have the right flair anywhere but the Shrieking Shack. Plus no one would think anything about the noise they were sure to make. "Oh come on… can't we just race there? At this rate there won't be any time to have fun."

"Quit whining," James whispered back to him. "Well get there soon enough. There's someone around the corner but I don't know who. With your howling it's bound to be Filch."

"It's just one dot.. we can get out before he even notices we were here." Sirius slipped to the front and opened the passage before any of the others could protest. With Peter nervously glancing over his shoulder and Remus eagerly following Sirius's footsteps, James had no choice but to follow his friends.

Sirius seemed to prove yet again that no one could catch him in the act. His audacity and recklessness brought them to great accomplishments and catastrophic downfalls. Despite the fact no one stopped them did not always mean they were not seen. Crossing the grounds was the easiest part of their journey. During the new moons the constant darkness aided them greatly. They crept up on the Whomping Willow, wary of its angry branches. Peter was the fastest among them, which surprised everyone who thought his bulk would be a hindrance, and he darted in with a thick stick to press a knot at the base of the tree. The tree froze allowing the rest to slip into the tunnel entrance.

Sirius grinned when they entered the tunnel. With a quick flick of his wand light followed him as he raced down the corridor. "Come on!" Soon the others were jockeying for position as they neared the Shrieking Shack. The four of them barreled through the trapdoor laughing up a storm. "Now the fun can begin!"

"Remus… we've been waiting forever to show you," James grinned as he positioned Remus on the bed.

"You're going to love it." Sirius started to rearrange the rest of the shabby furniture to give them the most space. Peter double-checked the door to make sure no one followed them.

"What are you going on about?" He could not contain his chuckles as he watched his friends dart around the room.

"Alright now, Monsieur Moony," James had the other two line up beside him. "We proudly present the completion of the Marauders. Ready?"

"Wait… wait.. wait… Who's going first?" Peter piped up glancing at the other two.

"Well… who says someone has to go first?" Sirius shrugged.

"It'd be more dramatic. We'll start with Peter," James pointed to the smallest of them.

"Why do I have to go first?"

"You suggested it."

"Why don't you go first?"

"Me? Won't that make you rather anticlimactic?"

"He's got a point, Peter. You should go first." Sirius stated firmly. "It only makes sense. You were the last one to achieve this. You should get the honor of going first. Me and James will go last."

"We should go one by one. No need to overwhelm Moony. And for the sake of space, you should be next. I want to make sure I don't squash anyone." James looked to his friends for agreement. "Ready?" he asked again. "Presenting, Monsieur Pettigrew…" James threw out his left hand and Peter suddenly disappeared. In the space the young boy stood, a tiny brown rat perched on its hind legs and seemed to wave at Remus. The young werewolf was stunned and could not find any words to express his amazement. "And Monsieur Black." With the same pop Sirius vanished and a great black dog shook itself, panting happily. He yipped playfully as he saw Remus's grin. Without warning James transformed. His huge form took of more space than he was prepared for. He felt his budding antlers scrape against the ceiling as he bowed his head.

"That's bloody awesome. When did you do all this? _How_ did you do this?" Remus stood and approached his friends. "You know, your names don't do you justice." He laughed. It was the only way he could express his amazement.

Once they were sure Moony had a good look at their new Animagi forms, James return to his human form. Sirius and Peter changed back soon after. "Well, you got Moony for obviously reasons," Sirius moved to sit on the remnants of a chair. "We've got a rat, a dog and a stag. What did you have in mind?"

X

What were those four up to? Severus glanced over his shoulder before he followed them through the hidden passage. Leaving the shadows alone in the dungeons seemed to be a brilliant idea. Wherever the Gryffindors were headed, Severus was certain to find a way to get them all in trouble. He hunkered down behind a rock outcropping and waited. They would have to emerge eventually. It was the waiting that wore on Severus. The longer he forced himself to stay hidden the worse the feeling of doom that washed over him. Logically there was no inhuman form coming to bind him and remove all his freedoms so there was no reason to try to run away. But every nerve in his body told him to run and to keep running. Fighting the urge increased his paranoia tenfold. Sweat beaded on his brow and the mere movement of wiping it away nearly took away his resolve to wait.

After hours of sitting still, battling the instinct to run, Severus saw black shadows emerge from the giant shadow of the Whomping Willow. But it was that exact moment when the large specter haunting his vision raced towards him. A human shaped monster bearing rusty manacles laughed coldly as it approached Severus's field of vision. Despite knowing the truth of the matter, Severus still ran from the monstrosity, shouting in terror. Running from the illusions and magically induced fear, forced him to ignore the other shadows that approached the school.

"Hey, look, Prongs." Sirius gestured out into the fields surrounding the Whomping Willow. He had decided to use their new nicknames as often as possible and there was little that could dampen his spirits. In fact the sight of Snape running like a maniac only increased his mirth tenfold. "Looks like Snivellus finally got the brunt of your spell."

"Took its time." James barked out a laugh. "I'm never doing that spell again. It's a complete waste. We can't even see what is causing his fears."

"Ah well, at least we know he has nightmares and we can bet he'll have them for years to come." Sirius veered towards the castle, intent on spending the rest of the dark hours in sleep. When all but Remus followed him, Sirius finally turned to the young werewolf. "Are you coming?" He prompted. Snape's misery was none of his concern. And if it served as a distraction to avoid Filch then all the better.

"We ought to remove the curse. Before one of the teachers can peg it on the two of you. This isn't like the other pranks. The longer the spell remains functioning the more likely he'll suffer irreparable brain damage." Remus eyed his friends, wondering if he could convince them to do what was right and not harp on petty grievances. "Besides, if you ever want Lily to look favorably on you ever again, James, you can start by returning him to normal."

"But where's the fun in that?" James frowned in Snape's direction. The Slytherin was living up to his name right then. Sniveling, half hidden under a boulder, Snape cowered at some unseen entity.

"It's not supposed to be fun, James. It's still the only way you'll be able to continue your pranks." Remus did not sound particularly pleased with his reasoning, but it was the only vein that might get the others to listen.

"Aw, come on, Moony, the spell finally started working." Sirius complained loudly.

"He's got a point, Remus," James stated carelessly. "This is our finest hour. The spell worked and now you're telling us we can't enjoy its effects?"

"This is not enjoying its effects," Remus sighed. "And this is most definitely not our finest hour. This is torture, not fun and games."

"Are you going to go Prefect on us?" Sirius laughed, shaking his head in amusement. "Come on, Moony, lighten up. We were having such a great night too."

"Look, if you want the teachers asking about this spell, by all means leave it on him. But I want it known that I had nothing to do with keeping this spell in place," Remus ignored the pleading looks from the others and started to walk away. "You know they will wonder and we're the first they look to when it involves Snape. Are you coming Peter? Or do you want to be lumped in with them. This is worthy of something worse than mere detention, James."

"Be a killjoy then," Sirius called after them. "Come on Prongs, lets see if we can steer Snape into Filch." However James was looking rather introspective.

"This will get back to us, you know Sirius." James peered over at the rock where Snape was hiding, trembling in the magically induced terror. "We've had our fun and know the spell works. We can always put it back on him later if we need to. But we don't need to tempt fate just yet."

"You can't be serious, mate. Not when it's just getting good."

"We'll get him again. This way we'll always be able to one up him." James stepped towards the sniveling figure and cast the counter curse to end the spell then quickly retreated to the shadows with Sirius so their victim would never know what had happened.

But Snape already knew who had placed the curse on him, even if he didn't know the precise one. And when the vision suddenly vanished and the terror felt more like a distant nightmare, Severus glowered at the night sky and vowed to get them expelled for their deeds. He would never let them continue their reign of terror. The time for pranks was at an end. It was time for all out war. He already knew one of their secrets, he just had to use it to the best of his knowledge.

AN: I was doing some research into the Maruaders Era once again and discovered something I missed the first time around. The resulting delay will give me a chance to make the story completely compliant with the memories. This is for the benefit of the story, I will try not to take so long with the next update.


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